Whether you're seeking captivating fiction, enlightening non-fiction, or engaging poetry, this sampling from the Jacksonville Public Library’s Local Author Collection celebrates the unique perspectives and stories that make our city a rich source of literary inspiration. With thought-provoking narratives and engaging poetry that resonates with the ebb and flow of the St. Johns River, these pages encapsulate the very essence of our city. Join us in exploring the pages penned by our very own wordsmiths and gain a deeper connection to the cultural tapestry that defines Jacksonville's literary landscape.
#Attention Local Authors
Interested in adding your own voice to the Library’s Local Author Collection? Get started here!
If you're looking for free writing and publishing workshops, check out Jax Book Fest (Writer's Day) at the Main Library on Friday, September 22. You can also learn how to submit your e-book to the Florida Indie Author Collection or get your manuscript ready for on-demand printing at one of three Pressbooks workshops. There will also be just under 100 local authors at Jax Book Fest on September 23 from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. It's a great opportunity to learn, network, or find a writer's group you'd like to join.
Get the full schedule and register for free events at jaxlibrary.org/bookfest.
He either lives or dies, no more in between. The line can't be straddled any further. The Turners have been rocked by their oldest child's spiraling depression and self-destructive behavior. It's torn the family apart and drained their limited finances. When the psychiatrists have exhausted all treatment options with no success, they recommend an in-patient facility the Turners cannot afford. Life altering decisions must now be made. How far will a parent go to save a child? At what cost to the rest of the family? How do you save someone who doesn't want to be saved?
Twenty-eight-year-old Ryan Anderson is fearlessly smart, energetic, and athletic. His quick wit and keen intellect have propelled him to a respected position in one of the Southeast's most successful advertising firms. He's also the lead singer in a popular local band. Ryan rides high atop this wave of success until a fateful late-night encounter that would forever change his life in ways he could never imagine. Within months his body has practically withered away to a barely recognizable state. His job is being threatened by subordinates looking to capitalize on his failing health and his singing days are all but over. He's a medical mystery to the doctors and specialist treating him and despite the best medical care, he continues to waste away at an alarming rate. Just as Ryan begins to lost hope, a mysterious stranger arrives who can explain and treat his bizarre condition but that explanation comes with a price.
A psychological thriller that changes everything you know about life after death. Without even a name to lean on, this story follows an unnamed hero as they fight through understanding the purpose of Earth's Shipping Yard and how they can redeem themselves once back on Earth, before it's too late.
A streetwise African American teenager hastily departs bigoted Anderson, South Carolina in the 1940s. During her travels over a span of nearly eighty years, she assumes the identity of her alter ego while living a good life as a nationally respected media mogul. But, it is marked with deep-rooted secrets: one involving the murder of a White man and the other dealing with the disappearance of a prominent Black man, both from her past life in the Deep South.
Living to eat is no longer an admission of gluttony or a problem with self-control. It has, in fact, become a badge of honor. Jeffrey Spear delights us with remarkable culinary adventures, starting from his childhood home, in Baltimore, Maryland to exotic destinations around the world, describing the foods that made indelible impressions along the way. Includes 96 recipes.
After retiring as President of the North Campus and the Nassau Center of Florida State College at Jacksonville, Dr. Barbara Darby releases her personal account of her leadership odyssey, intended to benefit aspiring and beginning leaders. The wisdom she has gained and shares within these pages will hopefully inspire, encourage, affirm, teach, guide, shape, or simply confirm what the reader may already know, leadership is a journey with highs and lows, challenges as well as tremendous rewards.
Follow the author in pigtails as a child and later with a prayer cap, challenging church rules and bucking a heavy-handed father. Fans of coming-of-age stories will delight in one woman's surprising path toward self-discovery.
Wanda Suttle Duncan is descended from dragon-slayers and swamp-dwellers, a seventh-generation Florida Cracker. She ended the Cracker legacy of her family when she moved away from Florida as a young woman. Returning later in life to care for her mother while seeking respite from family tragedy, she finds her small gritty Southern hometown seemingly frozen in time, where pristine collides with provincialism, poverty, and an abundance of inexplicable, off-normal phenomena.
A collection of inspirational poems that have been curated through life's ups and downs, touching on topics such as love, religion, healing, happiness, relationships, trauma, and restoration.
This is my hero's journey, a journey twenty-five years in the making; how a princess became a monster who rose from the ashes and became a phoenix.
